


Subject Object

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [130]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 18:11:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11972880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Tommy discovers Becca is lying to her parents. Oliver decides to follow their fifteen year old to uncover what she's hiding. What he finds, surprises them all.





	Subject Object

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further. 
> 
> To any readers in Houston and along the Gulf Coast, I hope you and your loved ones are safe. The journey back to 'normal' will be long and challenging, but you are not alone.
> 
> I thought we could use a break from all the angst and spend some time with the Quoaklyns and their brood.
> 
> A new piece of fanart is debuting with this installment. A big thank you to ENSM31.
> 
> This installment is 129/130. The installment list has grown too long for the notes section. You can now find the chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, at http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019
> 
> If you are new to the series, welcome.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

Artwork by ENSM31

 

Tommy caught Oliver’s eye in the mirror as they shaved, side by side. “Rebecca’s been lying to me,” he said as he continued to shave.

“About what?” Oliver placed his razor on the counter. “Is it another boy?” he continued. It had only been five months since the tabloids revealed that Becca had a boyfriend she hadn’t told her parents about. Becca had only been dating the boy for two weeks, but she hadn’t been truthful about where she was going and who she was seeing. Oliver had been less than thrilled to see his daughter holding hands and kissing a boy as he’d read the morning paper. The boyfriend had gone as quickly as he’d appeared in Becca’s life.

“I don’t know,” Tommy rinsed his blade in the sink. He grabbed a hand towel and wiped the remaining shaving cream from his face. “All I do know is that for the past two months, she’s told me she is going to extra ballet rehearsals on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

“Let me guess, there are no rehearsals on Wednesday or Saturday,” Oliver leaned heavily against the counter.

“No, there are not. Yesterday, I was passing the studio, and since it was raining, I thought I’d be a nice dad and give her a ride home. I thought I could sneak in and catch a little of their rehearsal, but she wasn’t there. I was reminded that she only has rehearsal on, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I got home, she was sitting in the kitchen, in her ballet practice clothes. I asked her how her rehearsal was - she went on for five minutes about a sequence she can’t get right.” Tommy shook his head, “It was all I could do to keep a straight face and my temper.”

“You think it’s a boy?” Oliver asked. Despite her earlier lie, it wasn’t like Becca to maintain an elaborate charade. She was clearly doing something that she didn’t want her parents to know about. A boy was the only thing he could think she’d be hiding.

“I’m kind of hoping it’s a boy,” Tommy said. “I don’t want to think what else she could be up to. I checked where her cell has been the past month. She’s wandering all over the city, but there are a couple of addresses where she seems to linger.”

“What did Felicity say?” Oliver was confident his wife would have an answer.

“I haven’t told her yet,” Tommy admitted guiltily.

“Why not?”

“A fifteen-year-old sneaking around behind her parents’ back – I think that’s our wheelhouse, don’t you?” Tommy grinned. “Once you and I figure out what she’s up to, we can tell Felicity. She’s got enough going on at work without having to deal with this.”

“Send me the addresses where Becca spent the most time,” Oliver told his husband. “I’ll check them out today.”

Tommy smiled with relief, “Thank you. Maybe she’s just campaigning for the Republican candidate for Congress.”

Oliver laughed, “I think I’d prefer a secret boyfriend.”

“Maybe her boyfriend is a Republican,” Tommy offered.

Oliver and Tommy both shuddered.

 

Oliver stood on a roof watching Rebecca lurking in the alley below him, her camera trained on a building across from her location. He had imagined a lot of things that Becca could’ve been getting up to while she was allegedly at rehearsal, but he hadn’t expected what he’d discovered.

Oliver had looked up the addresses Tommy had given him and it didn’t take him long to run property searches and realize that a few of them were residences belonging to three members of the paparazzi. He couldn’t imagine why Becca was visiting people she considered her tormenters.  When he woke up that morning, determined to spend his Saturday following his daughter, he hadn’t planned on traveling all over Starling stalking her as she stalked a paparazzo with her camera.

Becca left the alley and began to follow a man and woman down the street, her camera up and taking pictures. Oliver confirmed he was still tracing Becca’s GPS location, before he took the fire escape to the alley. He might be fifty-three years old, but he could still make it down a fire escape without using the stairs.

Oliver pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes and fell into step behind Becca. He was a block behind her, and she was a half block behind her quarry. The man and woman kissed on the street corner as they waited for the light to change. Oliver was surprised to see a smug grin on Becca’s face as she took a flurry of photographs. Her smile grew as she flipped through her pictures on her view screen. Becca pulled her hood up and returned the camera to the book bag she had on her back. She started walking quickly and didn’t look as she passed the man and woman who were still locked in an embrace. Oliver had to pick up his pace to keep up with her.

 

“But why? I don’t understand,” Felicity said as she paced in front of the fireplace.

“I don’t know,” Oliver answered truthfully.

“Who was she following today?” Tommy asked as he picked up Felicity’s holo-tablet.

“Dave Cole,” Oliver answered.

“When you gave me their names, I did a little search of their work.” Tommy swiped his finger across the screen, “These gems belong to Dave Cole.”

Oliver winced as he watched the photos flip by. Tommy had selected those that had been taken of their family, but many of them were of Becca alone. The most distressing picture was of Becca when she was six. She stood in her school’s playground with her arms covering her face, trying to hide from the cameras that had lined up at the fence to get a shot of her playing. Oliver had been furious when that photo had been published.

“The other two names you gave me,” Tommy swiped his finger and new photos were projected from the tablet, “belong to these photos.”

“She’s following the men who sold pictures of her,” Felicity said. “Why?”

The front door opened and closed.

“We’re about to find out,” Tommy said as he rose from the sofa.

Oliver could hear his husband speaking with Becca and Bobby, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He heard Becca, huff, “Fine,” before she entered the living room with her arms folded across her chest.

“Are we interrupting your evening?” Felicity asked drolly.

“I was talking to Dani and Gigi,” Becca said sullenly. Oliver noted that she was no longer dressed as she’d been when he’d followed her, but was now wearing a black leotard and a pink ballet skirt.

Bobby followed Becca into the room, but the smile fell from his face when he saw his parents, “What’s wrong?”

Oliver looked between his spouses and they nodded. It was only necessary to speak with Becca, but having another child present was always an effective polygraph. Bobby and Becca kept few secrets from one another. If he couldn’t catch Becca in a lie, Bobby’s reaction might point them in the right direction. He gestured towards the sofa, “I thought you were only dropping your sister off.”

Bobby grinned, “I was hoping to get something to eat.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Tommy told their son.

Becca moved to sit beside Bobby, but Tommy intercepted her and moved her to the fireplace, “You stand right here.”

Becca sighed, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Guess where I went on Wednesday?” Tommy asked her as he leaned on the mantle.

“I have no idea,” she shrugged.

“I dropped by your dance studio,” Tommy began.

Becca’s face went from insolent to alarmed, “Da, I can explain.”

Oliver was torn between revealing what they knew and seeing whether their daughter would hang herself with a new lie. He wasn’t in a charitable mood, “I’d love to hear it.”

“I’ve been working on a school project,” she said quickly.

“What kind of project?” Felicity shot Oliver a look that clearly said she wasn’t buying it. Felicity knew each and every homework assignment their children were working on.

“It’s for my journalism class. I’m supposed to do a project on something I know about,” she explained.

“The paparazzi,” Oliver said with understanding.

Becca looked at her dad with surprise and cautiously said, “Yeah.” She narrowed her eyes, “Oh my God, you were following me today. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me, but I couldn’t find you.”

“Your dad has evaded the police for more than twenty-five years,” Tommy pointed out.

“I don’t think gramps marrying grandma can be considered,” she made air quotes, “evading the police.”

“There’s only room for one funny guy in this room right now, and I have seniority,” Tommy informed their daughter.

Becca rolled her eyes.

“Oh, that is definitely not the attitude you want to be going with,” Felicity said angrily.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Becca said defensively.

“You’ve been lying to us.” Tommy gestured to her outfit, “For two months, you’ve been telling me you’ve been at rehearsal on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”

“I didn’t want you to worry,” Becca explained to Tommy.

Tommy scoffed, “It’s my job to worry about you.”

“Jose Ramirez, Dave Cole and Emil Johnson. You know these men?” Oliver asked.

The color drained from Becca’s face. She clasped her hands tightly against her stomach, her eyes directed to the floor, “Yes, they’re paparazzi that follow us.”

“You’re following them and taking their pictures,” Oliver said. “You’re taking pictures of their families – their kids – their grandkids?”

“Yes,” Becca answered.

“Why?” Tommy asked.

“I told you - for my journalism class. It’s for the end of the year. I’m doing a photojournalism piece,” she said anxiously.

“On paparazzi?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. I’ve created a website to display the work -it’s not live yet,” Becca replied.

“You’re putting the pictures online?” Felicity asked with alarm.

“Becca nodded, “Eventually, yes.”

Becca turned on the television and then removed the tablet from her bag. Oliver watched the screen as Becca opened a series of files. He was shocked by the first picture. It was of three-year-old Becca standing on a sidewalk, crying, covered in blood. Oliver felt sick as he remembered picking Tommy and the children up from the pediatrician the day the paparazzi had surrounded his family to get a picture of the twins and they’d knocked Becca to the ground. It was followed by a photograph of a crying and frightened Becca, clinging to Oliver as he carried her down their street. The third photograph was the one Tommy had just shown them of Becca covering her face in the schoolyard. The name of the photographer, Dave Cole, appeared on the screen, followed by the amount of money he’d been paid for each photograph. Candid images of Dave Cole appeared next. There were images of the man carrying his groceries, leaving his home, driving his car and kissing a woman on a street corner.

Everyone sat in silence as image after image of Becca appeared. Each photo had been taken by the paparazzi and sold. After each series of photos, a name would appear, the sale price of each photo, and then images Becca had taken of the paparazzo.

Oliver’s fists clenched at his sides as he watched his daughter on-screen. He remembered almost all the moments caught by the paparazzi. He remembered Becca’s very real terror as they were surrounded by cameras and men shouting her name. Worse still were the candid shots of Becca when she didn’t realize she was being stalked with a lens. All the candid photos felt like a true invasion of her privacy. There were pictures of her playing with her siblings, putting flowers on her grandmother’s grave, eating with her friends, holding hands with a boy, and wearing a bikini beside the pool at the Queen mansion. All the pictures had been published and had caused her great distress at either the time they were taken or after they were published. Oliver hated that his children had paid a very public price for being his.

After fifteen minutes, a picture of Becca taking her own picture in a mirror appeared and then faded to black.

“Wow, sweet pea,” Felicity said as she wiped tears from her cheeks. “That was pretty powerful.”

Tommy sat forward with his elbows braced on his thighs, his fingers steepled against his lips. In a calm, quiet voice he asked, “You followed these men to their homes?”

Becca looked between Felicity and Oliver. She recognized the tone of Tommy’s voice and knew he was furious. “I did, da, but I used my telephoto lens – they never knew I was there.”

Tommy launched from his chair, pointing at the screen, “But they did see you. You just showed us photographs of them spotting you. You’re fifteen. You followed these men without telling us what you were doing. Something could’ve happened and we would never have known.”

“Nothing happened,” she said. “I know how to take care of myself.”

Tommy gave his husband a pointed look before returning his attention to their daughter. “That’s not the point,” Tommy shouted.

“Did you know about this?” Tommy asked, rounding on Bobby.

“Me? No, she didn’t tell me,” Bobby squeezed Becca’s hand in support, “but I think it’s fantastic.”

“Don’t be mad, da” Becca pleaded softly. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d want to follow me.”

“Would it have been that bad for me to follow you?” Tommy asked, his anger gone.

“You’re one of the three most famous people in the city. People would’ve noticed you,” Becca stated. “I was trying to be discreet.”

“I would’ve gone with you,” Bobby said. “Da is right. These guys are all scumbags. You picked the worst of the worst – the most aggressive. You could’ve ended up in a dangerous situation.”

“Okay, Prince Charming. No one would’ve noticed you. Besides,” she shrugged her shoulders, “not all of them are as scummy as you’d think. They have families – kids – moms. They just make a living like scumbags. Although, Dave Cole is cheating on his wife and Emil Johnson is totally in the closet.”

“Becca,” Oliver cautioned. He didn’t think these men deserved any consideration, but he wasn’t happy that his daughter seemed to be proud of herself for discovering devastating secrets.

“I wanted to pick the guys we hated,” she told Bobby. I wanted to pick the ones that scared me or embarrassed me. Mom and dads found out that I had a boyfriend from the tabloids before I could tell them. They grounded me because of these jerks.”

“For the record,” Felicity raised a finger, “you weren’t grounded for having a boyfriend, you were grounded for lying about where you were.”

“Fine. I still got grounded,” Becca responded. “I just want people to understand what it’s like. When my teacher said we should do a piece on something we know, I knew I wanted to do something on being famous, but I couldn’t figure out what my angle should be. I was out for ice cream with Nate and Prue. They were being silly and Nate was being gross – we were having fun.”

“And then the paparazzi showed up,” Oliver finished her thought.

“Yeah, and I remember thinking, Prue’s hair was really frizzy and the shirt she was wearing made her look pale- and I knew they’d find the most unflattering shot of her and the headline would read,”

“Merlyn-Queen heir dying,” Felicity recited the headline that had accompanied the photo Becca had just described.

“I was so angry. We were having fun and they were going to ruin it for us. I pulled out my cell – like da does when he gets annoyed – and I took a picture of the people taking our picture. It hit me, that my project could be turning the tables on the people who photograph us,” Becca explained. “I thought that if I showed all the hurtful pics of me over the years alongside the pictures I took of the photographers doing mundane stuff it would make people see us as real people with feelings – less like things to be stared at and watched. Why is it okay for them to take my picture and reveal my secrets, but it’s not okay for me to do the same to them? I never did anything to deserve having my life invaded.”

Oliver took his daughter into his arms, “No, you didn’t. We got lucky having you for our kid and you were rewarded with paparazzi following you from the moment you were born. We’re so sorry, Rebecca.”

“It’s not your fault,” Becca said.

“It kind of is,” Tommy said. “Your dad and I were idiots for a lot of years and drew lots of attention. They got used to following us and then he came back from the dead – we came out – got married – had kids. We shined a spotlight on us and then on you.”

“We tried to keep them away,” Felicity said apologetically. “Nothing we did ever seemed to work.”

“We bring the clicks,” Bobby reminded them. “People make lots of money off us.”

“You were cute babies, and you’re beautiful teenagers,” Felicity said with a smile. “We should’ve had ugly babies.”

“Too late now,” Tommy winked at his wife.

“We’re not sorry to be your kids,” Becca told her parents. “If the paparazzi are the price we pay for having you for parents, it’s a price we’re all willing to pay. We wouldn’t trade you for anonymity.”

Becca was embraced by all three of her parents.

“We love you, sweet pea,” Felicity said.

“You’re still going to be grounded,” Tommy informed his daughter.

“I figured,” Becca sighed.

The living room door opened and the twins walked in. Nate flopped over the back of the sofa and made the sign for hungry, “Da, I’m starving. What’s for dinner?”

Prue wrapped her arms around Bobby’s waist, “I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.”

“Becca asked me to pick her up from ballet rehearsal. I decided to stay for dinner,” Bobby reported.

“Yay,” Prue did a little dance. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Bobby laughed, “You saw me four days ago.”

“That doesn’t count,” she pouted, “you were just picking up laundry.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow, “Laundry?”

“Da likes doing it,” Bobby defended himself.

“Like is a strong word,” Tommy put an arm around his eldest’s shoulders. “Come help me with dinner.” He grabbed hold of Nate’s arm and pulled him upright, “You too, little man.”

“I’ll help too, da,” Prue said as she skipped after her brothers. “Bobby, guess what happened at school today.”

“I’ll go help da, too,” Becca said with a smile.

“Not so fast,” Felicity called after her daughter’s retreating back. “There’s a small matter of your grounding.”

Oliver held out his hand, “Your phone.”

“Daddy,” Becca whined.

“You can have it back before school on Monday,” Oliver slipped her phone into his pocket. Becca was a social butterfly and cutting her off from her friends was an effective form of punishment.

“Dani and Gigi are going to think I’m dead,” Becca put her hands together and begged.

Felicity held Becca’s tablet in front of her daughter, “You can send them a message that you’re grounded and that you’ll talk to them on Monday.”

Becca quickly tapped out a message to her friends. “What about my homework? I’ll need my tablet.”

“You can do your homework in the kitchen with the twins,” Felicity smiled.

Becca opened her mouth to complain, but Oliver interrupted her. “Before you speak, think hard. Two nights and one day without access to your friends seems like a small price to pay for lying to us for two months.”

“Fine,” Becca said with resignation.

“Good choice.” Oliver kissed the top of his daughter’s head, “I’m not happy about the lying, but I am proud of you.”

Becca smiled, “Thanks, daddy.”

“You can’t out Cole’s affair or that Johnson is gay,” Oliver told his daughter.

“Why?” Becca asked with a frown. “They wouldn’t think twice about it.”

“Cole has a family,” Oliver pointed out. “Does his family deserve to have their lives blown up because of your school project?”

“I’m not the one having the affair,” she said angrily.

“Becca,” Felicity admonished.

“Fine,” Becca huffed.

“If your dad and I had been outed before we were ready to come out, it could’ve had devastating consequences. Your dad wouldn’t have been safe if we’d been outed as teenagers,” Oliver said gently.

“Johnson isn’t a teenager,” Becca countered.

“No, but it’s not your right to out him. No matter what he’s done to you or this family,” Oliver said firmly.

“I don’t agree with you. I think they both deserve a taste of their own medicine,” she pouted.

“That might be true, baby, but you’re a better person than they are,” Felicity said kindly.

“Don’t you get tired of being a better person?” Becca asked.

Felicity smiled sadly, “All the time.”

“I hate being the better person,” Becca whined.

Oliver put his arm around his daughter’s shoulder and began walking to the kitchen, “Being the better person isn’t always easy, but it beats the alternative.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> I hope to have some romance coming your way for next weekend. Be Strong, was my main focus, which means everything is still in early draft stages. Wednesday's update will most likely be from William's POV.
> 
> To my readers in the USA, enjoy your long weekends.
> 
> Prompt requests are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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